Christo Gets Thumbs-Up for Over the River Installation

The Fremont county commissioners on March 27th granted the artist Christo permission for his Over the River project, involving fabric panels slated to horizontally cover a total of 5.9 miles of a 40-plus section of the Arkansas River, to go forward. The opening is scheduled for the first two weeks of August 2015. Christo and his late wife Jeanne-Claude began working on Over the River 16 years ago.

The four-phase commissioners’ PDF project approval document stipulates that the project construction will last two years; and indicates that three-month removals of the fabric panels based on weather may also be forseen. Colorado Public Radio reported on the canyon of the Arkansas River and the strong feelings the project has elicited on both sides. Christo’s effort to drape fabric over the river included his attending meetings in Fremont county in early February, in which it was indicated that Over the River corporation would be publishing all construction dates on a website.

Highway 50, the access point to the section of the Arkansas River where Over the River will be installed, has been contentious for local resident opponents, who have protested that traffic delays in the canyon and environmental concerns should have stopped the project.

“The work of art involves everything, people who like or dislike the work of art,” Christo told Colorado Public Radio.